Taperssection.com

Gear / Technical Help => Recording Gear => Topic started by: 2manyrocks on September 23, 2013, 01:19:24 PM

Title: usb interface recording into android tablet
Post by: 2manyrocks on September 23, 2013, 01:19:24 PM
Bought Mrs. Rocks a new android tablet and decided to see if I could record using my Focusrite 2i2. 

CM3>Focusrite 2i2>usb cable>usb otg adapter>sero 7 pro tablet using USB Recorder Pro app.

Apparently, a limitation of android is that one cannot control gain on the android device, but by connecting a usb interface with it's own gain control, one can get around this.  Also, it's possible to provide phantom power to the mics through the usb interface.

This $129.99 tablet will run 5 or 6 hours on its internal battery.  Not sure how long it will also power an external interface with phantom power. 

The USB Recorder Pro app seems to allow the USB interface to connect to the tablet.  It is not a DAW per se.  The developer has another inexpensive app for that.

This would seem to open the door to choosing among more interfaces for taping with tablets. 

More reading:  http://www.extreamsd.com/USBAudioRecorderPRO/

http://www.kvraudio.com/product/usb-audio-recorder-pro-by-extream-software-development

comments?
Title: Re: usb interface recording into android tablet
Post by: page on September 23, 2013, 01:39:48 PM
Yep. I think this is basically the best way at the moment of doing it (USB-OTG). Skip the ADC/USB step and you're left with the one in your tablet/phone and it's not designed for this.
Title: Re: usb interface recording into android tablet
Post by: DSatz on September 23, 2013, 10:20:00 PM
Many thanks for posting this information.

--best regards
Title: Re: usb interface recording into android tablet
Post by: page on September 23, 2013, 11:27:31 PM
yeah, Sound Devices suggests using a powered hub if you're doing stuff like that with their usbpre2. I remember reading about that in the manual or errata online.
Title: Re: usb interface recording into android tablet
Post by: Popmarter on September 24, 2013, 03:30:38 AM
I have tested this app with a Milabs VM44-Link > Mixpre-D > USB out > Samsung Galaxy S3 I9305 (Andriod 4.1.2) setup. The Samsung is nothing more than it bitbucket in this case and it worked. It records in 24 bit too. But to me it was all a bit to fragile, so I did not test it very well. I had a feeling the mobile would freeze very soon, due to all kind of programs that run in the background.
Title: Re: usb interface recording into android tablet
Post by: 2manyrocks on September 24, 2013, 02:29:27 PM
I probably ought to say that I was lucky with this combination because the Hisense Sero 7 pro tablet is not on the developer's list of known working hardware, and I haven't run it for an extended period yet to see if it  would lock up because of all the other stuff running on the tablet.    I happened to have this particular combination of hardware, and it was just a matter of spending a few bucks for the OTG cable to see if this combination worked together. 

I haven't been able to find the published specs for the Hisense Sero 7 pro tablet to see what voltage it actually puts out.  Their manual just says it's a micro usb port. 

For anyone else interested in trying this out, check the developer's list of known working tablets and interfaces in the link in the first post before spending any money unnecessarily.  Even the developer suggested using his trial software before buying. 

 
Title: Re: usb interface recording into android tablet
Post by: 2manyrocks on September 24, 2013, 04:20:50 PM
Thanks.

All the specs I find say it has a 4000 mAh battery and nothing about the current on the USB port.  There is this link with pictures of the inside of the tablet, and they say the micro usb port is on the main board.  http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2298328

Now I'm wondering if I completely drain the battery if it's going to lose its memory and programming? 
Title: Re: usb interface recording into android tablet
Post by: weroflu on February 15, 2016, 08:32:04 AM
Any more informaton on this topic?

(like newer phones with high capacity batteries ~4000 or 5000ma)

Title: Re: usb interface recording into android tablet
Post by: 2manyrocks on February 15, 2016, 02:20:13 PM
I have not done any more with this, but I suspect you could use an 5v external cell phone battery with a hub to power the 2i2 and the tablet for an extended period.  Then we would get into the question of whether this tablet with this software would record error free for the duration of a concert.

I would think you could run Reaper on a Windows 8.1 tablet using an external cell battery/hub combo and it ought to work, but I haven't tried it.  Then there are these new micro notebooks like the Lenovo 100s that will run about 8 hours on an internal battery, and I'm wondering how long they would power the 2i2 interface. 

But it doesn't make $ sense to rig this up when a DR60d records more channels for less money in one box plus external 5v battery, except if you want to use a tablet or computer interface to visually check your levels as you record. 

 
Title: Re: usb interface recording into android tablet
Post by: 2manyrocks on February 15, 2016, 07:37:34 PM
I already have the stuff for other reasons so I loaded Reaper onto my windows 8.1 tablet along with the 2i2 driver.  I connected an external 5v battery via a 3 in 1 hub (about $11) and it powers both the tablet and the 2i2 recording into Reaper like normal.

The weak part of the whole thing is all this is connected via a micro usb port on the tablet, and I could see it being damaged if you weren't very, very careful.  So I don't see this as a viable field recording setup unless you attach the tablet and the hub to something rigid to protect the micro usb connection. 
Title: Re: usb interface recording into android tablet
Post by: carpa on February 23, 2016, 06:50:19 PM
It is probably cheaper and safer to use a recorder and an external preamp instead of a USB interface with a tablet or a cell phone.
The only interesting possibility would be recording a better audio in a video footage with a smartphone.
 
We all know that recording separate audio and video is the best solution, but if you want something on-the-fly you either use :
1)  Zoom q8 or Sony HDR mv1 or similar  .  Audio is decent but video sucks because it's mostly wide angle / fisheye, which is ok for sports and leisure but I don't like for a music performance
2)  A smartphone or a camcorder ( if you own one). You end up with a better, up to excellent video but you get a crap sound. If you want a camcorder with line inputs you have to spend a lot.

A USB interface  with a smartphone could be the way to go as video quality is getting better, but it doesn't seem to exist the option to have the interface recognized by camera apps ( only sound recording apps as far as I know).

Do you have a solution?

 
Title: Re: usb interface recording into android tablet
Post by: voltronic on February 23, 2016, 10:07:30 PM
It is probably cheaper and safer to use a recorder and an external preamp instead of a USB interface with a tablet or a cell phone.
The only interesting possibility would be recording a better audio in a video footage with a smartphone.
 
We all know that recording separate audio and video is the best solution, but if you want something on-the-fly you either use :
1)  Zoom q8 or Sony HDR mv1 or similar  .  Audio is decent but video sucks because it's mostly wide angle / fisheye, which is ok for sports and leisure but I don't like for a music performance
2)  A smartphone or a camcorder ( if you own one). You end up with a better, up to excellent video but you get a crap sound. If you want a camcorder with line inputs you have to spend a lot.

A USB interface  with a smartphone could be the way to go as video quality is getting better, but it doesn't seem to exist the option to have the interface recognized by camera apps ( only sound recording apps as far as I know).

Do you have a solution?

The marching band I work with bought a Q8 and one of the staff members uses it to record competitions.  The fisheye is really pretty extreme - I can't stand it.  It does let you see the entire field from the 50, but it looks absolutely horrible, even far away from the press box.  If you were recording a relatively close-up concert with it, I think everything would look like an early Beastie Boys video.  It's an absolutely terrible camera, and the convenience is not worth it.

I use my smartphone with a tripod mount and get far superior quality video, albeit not as wide-angle so I have to either pan during the show or accept that performers moving to the extreme left and right get cut off sometimes..  I record audio separately with outboard mics and recorder, and then replace the phone audio track with the high-quality one in Sony Vegas.

The only thing I can think of that's more convenient without requiring post work is a decent DSLR with audio input which takes the feed right from your mic preamp or line out from your audio recorder, so you have a safety audio track being recorded there as backup in case you brickwall the camera input (which is easy to do).
Title: Re: usb interface recording into android tablet
Post by: carpa on February 24, 2016, 04:03:33 AM
@voltronic
this is exactly what I mean!  A good cheap smartphone can record much better video than Zoom Q8 and similar stuff. A cheap recorder or preamp + mic can record decent audio. We have now the possibility of USB audio on smartphones  ( http://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/irigproduo/   just an example....)   BUT video and audio cannot meet on a smartphone in lack of an app!

This is really funny